That’s not a surprise, considering he was an undrafted rookie thrust into the starting lineup. What surprised all of us was that he was a road grader in the running game, which is something we’re obviously not measuring here. Does that make up for his inadequacies in pass protection? Unfortunately, no.

Also fair — T.J. Lang, Bryan Bulaga, Marshall Newhouse and Evan Dietrich-Smith have some areas to improve in. Or maybe a better assessment is this. The Packers need to bring in some new talent on the offensive line.

It’s not hard to see that the left side of the Packers offensive line didn’t play well in 2012. Of the team’s 51 sacks surrendered, 25 were given up by Newhouse and Lang — the team’s starting left tackle and guard.

Those positions should be priorities for the Packers to address this offseason. Will they? We’re going to say it’s doubtful.

The team is still counting on former first-round pick Derek Sherrod to compete for a spot. There’s also been talk of moving Bulaga back to left tackle (although he wasn’t much better than Newhouse in 2012). Then there’s the fact the Packers gave Lang a contract extension last offseason.

That doesn’t bode well for an influx of new talent. Besides, you know the Packers love the status quo more than anything else.

Would be fair if we could get a breakdown of when Lang gave up those sacks, hurries and hits. His games at RT were awful, further acknowledging the fact that he's a guard. I actually thought he did a pretty decent job at that spot.

Barclay is what he is. A pretty decent run blocker with some glaring holes in his pass protection.

Newhouse was/is an athletic project. I think that he can still get better and be an effective LT, but yes, he does still get beaten by the better pass rushers at this point in his career. I don't know if he'll ever become an elite LT, I don't think so, but he's servicable.

We should hope that Sherrod comes back strong. He's not that much different from Newhouse, but just a tad bigger, a tad more talented. I feel that, with some development, he'll surpass Newhouse.

Problem his, he'll need some playing time and he might not, from the get go, play on Newhouse's level, so we'll have to hope he'll actually see the field at all next season.

The only offensive lineman that has an automatic starting job is Sitton going into training camp. I would say we have a lot of weaknesses on our offensive line. But, when you take into account the amount of times the Packers go empty to get 5 wide out on the field - our line is put in a tough position.

AT LEAST half of the sacks are Rodgers' fault.. He holds the ball way too damn long.

and do not help the line much at all.

9 out of 51 is half? Where did you get your public education at, North Dakota?

"I do not think there is any thrill that can go through the human heart like that felt by the inventor as he sees some creation of the brain unfolding to success... such emotions make a man forget food, sleep, friends, love, everything." - Nikola Tesla

The first thing that comes to my mind is that the numbers are skewed because the sacks usually come from the edge not the center of the line. So, as an example, Barclay with 14 may have actually done much better than Lang with 12. Without knowing who they're actually assigned to block it's impossible to tell.

The first thing that comes to my mind is that the numbers are skewed because the sacks usually come from the edge not the center of the line. So, as an example, Barclay with 14 may have actually done much better than Lang with 12. Without knowing who they're actually assigned to block it's impossible to tell.

Yep. Hard to tell. Were there stunts or twists that didn't get picked up? Was there 2 guys coming over OT? One to the inside and one to the outside? Was the RB/TE suppose to assist and he wasn't there?

Raw numbers don't mean a whole lot without the reviewing each play. Glad that is not my job.

Also, this article only compares the Packers O-linemen, than draws the conclusion that they need new guys because some did worse than others. John Madden and I would be willing to go out on a limb (a fairly stout one though) and say that that is true of most any football team ever/anywhere. In short, it doesn't mean much if it isn't comparing them to other linemen in the league. Not to say the conclusion is wrong (because it may very well be correct), just that the method of reaching it isn't.

Also, this article only compares the Packers O-linemen, than draws the conclusion that they need new guys because some did worse than others. John Madden and I would be willing to go out on a limb (a fairly stout one though) and say that that is true of most any football team ever/anywhere. In short, it doesn't mean much if it isn't comparing them to other linemen in the league. Not to say the conclusion is wrong (because it may very well be correct), just that the method of reaching it isn't.

some of problems with amateur columnists. They don't typically have all the resources they need to substantiate their claims. Nor are they always as articulate as we would like them to be.

I usually pass up posting these kinds of articles but since we have been discussing the OL and draft needs I thought I would toss this one onto the pile.

This seems to place only an emphasis on pass protection and penalties. What about run blocking? Being a good pass protector does not equate to run blocking. The two aren't mutually exclusive. For example, Jeff Saturday was a bad run blocker this year. He couldn't get to the next level because he didn't move well. That's among the reasons they made the move to EDS. These figures paint a much brighter picture of Saturday.

There's no doubt Green Bay needs to improve the talent on the offensive line, but based on history, they have three starters that are competent or capable of playing at a high level. Those are T.J. Lang, Josh Sitton, and Bryan Bulaga. The latter was rock solid in 2011, and better than advertised this season with the exception of the Seattle game. That game leads to an inflated 16-game projection. Takeaway that game and Bulaga has a reasonable projection for a right tackle.

Identify the weakness and correct it. The weak link is center and especially left tackle. Many grade Newhouse on a curve for reasons that confuse me. In this offense, though, left tackle is the second most important position. That problem needs to be rectified.

The first thing that comes to my mind is that the numbers are skewed because the sacks usually come from the edge not the center of the line. So, as an example, Barclay with 14 may have actually done much better than Lang with 12. Without knowing who they're actually assigned to block it's impossible to tell.

ya I thought the same thing - most prime time rushers are those on the outside; really good DEs or OLBs - and those guys are all taking on a tackle (usually). Not that I dont think our Oline needs a look at.

Also as some has suggested we (rodgers) needs more practice at the quick drop off and not holding the ball too long ...

and maybe a better RB might help keep the teams off him a bit. Someone bigger that can block and can also run.

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